Fall River Career Center reaching out to Shaw's employees

One hundred workers and a city were left scrambling Monday with the surprise announcement by Shaw’s supermarket that it would close its store in the South End at 465 William S. Canning Blvd.

By Kevin P. O’Connor

The Herald News, Fall River, MA

By Kevin P. O’Connor

Posted Jul. 9, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jul 9, 2013 at 9:14 AM

By Kevin P. O’Connor

Posted Jul. 9, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jul 9, 2013 at 9:14 AM

FALL RIVER

» Social News

One hundred workers and a city were left scrambling Monday with the surprise announcement by Shaw’s supermarket that it would close its store in the South End at 465 William S. Canning Blvd.

A day later, the city is still waiting for answers about the effects the closing will have on its employees, Mayor Will Flanagan said.

But it is not waiting to act, he added.

Ken Fiola, the executive vice president of the Fall River Office of Economic Development, said Tuesday that the city tried all day to get concrete information about the closing from Shaw’s.

“We learned about the closing of Shaw’s when the store sent an email to the mayor at 12:16 this morning,” Fiola said. “There have been longtime rumors about this, but in all of our discussions with Shaw’s, they never indicated there was any truth to them.

“It is always disconcerting when a company decides not to give us advance notice.”

“As soon as I got word, I contacted the career center,” Flanagan said. “I’ve also been in contact with the state agencies. They are organizing a rapid response team.”

Plans are underway for a meeting on July 22 with Shaw’s workers, Flanagan said.

“We’ll meet with displaced workers to go over what is available for help and what their options are,” he said.

Shaw’s told city officials that there are about 100 employees at the store, but that some of those will be offered transfers to other stores, so not all the employees will lose their jobs when the store closes.

Those laid off will be directed to the Fall River Career Center, 446 N. Main St., Flanagan said.

“We’ll do everything we can to make sure the employees at Shaw’s know of the services we offer at the center and help them in any way we can,” said Joseph Viana, director of operations for the career center.

“They key for us, now, is to let people know we have resources available for them. We are already working with other companies to see who needs workers with those skills.”

The Fall River Career Center is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. It has a computer lab for people to use in their job search, as well as job postings and classes in resume writing and interview techniques, Viana said. Those with questions can call the center at 508-730-5000 or email Viana at jviana@detma.org.

Both the mayor’s office and the career center have spoken with managers at Walmart, which will open its new store on July 17, and Sam’s Club, which will open in the fall. Both stores are located in the Crossroads at 24, the new plaza on Brayton Avenue.

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In the meantime, the city has included the Shaw’s site in its marketing efforts to find a new tenant for open spaces in the New Harbour Mall, across the street from Shaw’s.

“I’ve been in contact with a few individuals to see if there is any interest in that area,” Flanagan said.

A deed restriction prohibits a supermarket in the New Harbour Mall. But with Shaw’s closing its South End store, the city will again reach out to the Market Basket chain to talk to them about Fall River, Flanagan said.

“It is my hope that location will not be vacant for long,” Flanagan said. “We are also working with the owners of the New Harbour Mall to help them with their opening.”

There is a lot of interest in a large retail space right off the highway, Flanagan said.

“There is a lot of opportunity there, in the South End of the city,” he said.